Chatterbox #91 – Adulthood: Someday we all have to grow up

We all have to grow up someday! In this episode, we talk about becoming and adult and the different generations of adults in North America, and we discuss some of the slang terms that describe various types of adults. We talk about it all, up to having kids and going on parental leave. Listen in to find out whether Maura really is a yuppie!

Sample transcript

Maura: All right. So, today’s episode is a Chatterbox episode and that is where Harp and I get to chat about all kinds of different topics of interest.

Harp: Yes. And today we’re talking about adulthood.

Maura: Mmhmm. So we did an episode a month or so ago called Childhood, and now we’re talking about as you grow up, you get older, and you start to become an adult.

Harp: So today we’re gonna break down the episode. We’re gonna talk first about coming of age, becoming an adult.

Maura: Right, when you’re just growing up and becoming an adult, like you said. And then we’re going to talk about some slang related to adults.

Harp: Yes. And then we’re going to talk about having kids when you’re an adult.

Maura: Right. So, once you’ve grown up a bit, then you have kids. And we’ll talk about some terms and expressions related to that.

Harp: OK, so let’s get started.

Maura: First, as we said, we’re going to talk about coming of age. And this is really an expression in itself. To come of age means that you’ve grown up, you’re older, and that you are taking the steps to become an adult.

Harp: Yeah. And the interesting thing in North America is that in Canada, we consider someone an adult at 18. They’re able to vote, they’ve been driving for a couple of years, they can drink alcohol.

Maura: In some provinces.

Harp: Yes, 18 or 19, it depends on the province. But in the US, it’s 21.

Maura: Yeah. So between Canada and the US, we have different standards for when someone legally becomes an adult. But when someone actually becomes an adult, like they’re mature enough, that is different from person to person. But it does happen between the ages of 18 to 21, usually.

Harp: Usually.

Maura: Right. Some people you know in their late 20s, and they barely seem like adults.

Harp: Yeah. Some people are older and act like kids still.

Maura: Today the generation that is coming of age and becoming adults is Generation Y. Now, people part of Generation Y are born in the 1980s and the 1990s. There are different ideas of when exactly Generation Y is. So, some people say that Generation Y includes people born in the late 1970s and in the 2000s as well, but Generation Y is the people born around the 1980s and 1990s.